By LEAH WEATHERSBY and CLAYTON PARK

A grand reopening event for Gas Works Park is tentatively set to take place on Saturday, June 30. The popular park, located on the north shore of Lake Union in the Wallingford district, has been closed since October for environmental cleanup work to remove contamination left over from the gas works plant on the site that shut down in 1956.

While the park underwent an environmental clean up in 1984 and reopened several months later after City officials gave it a clean bill of health, a second environmental cleanup was ordered by the City a few months ago after investigators determined that additional cleanup work was needed "to mitigate future risks and improve the overall health of the park and Lake Union," according to a press release issued last fall by the Seattle Parks and Recreation Department.

Dewey Potter, a spokeswoman for the Parks Department, told the Jet City Maven this past month that "all cleanup work has been completed." Hopefully, this will be the last time the park needs to be closed for environmental reasons, she said.

While Potter says the vapor extraction work has been completed, irrigation lines must still be installed, electrical power restored and grass must be put in.

In fact, according to Potter, Gas Works may be one of the few Seattle parks with green grass this year. Thanks to the lack of rainfall, the city is cutting back its irrigation. However, the Parks Department will be required to water Gas Works Park so that the new grass can get established.

While many other parks in the city may turn brown this summer, green grass may be a small compensation to Wallingford neighborhood residents for their eight months without access to Gas Works Park.

Potter added that Gas Works Park will also once again serve as the site for the AT&T Family Fourth of July fireworks show, a popular yearly event that draws thousands of visitors from throughout the city to the park.

Potter said the City is planning a celebration to mark the reopening of Gas Works Park, but added that details are still being worked out, including deciding what time the June 30 event will be held.

For more information, contact Dewey Potter of the Parks Department at 684-7241.